


TES: Outsider

by BitterSweetPringles



Category: Elder Scrolls
Genre: Argonian - Freeform, Daedra, Fantasy, Gen, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-10-10 15:46:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20530517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BitterSweetPringles/pseuds/BitterSweetPringles
Summary: A young woman finds herself waking up in a familiar world after going to sleep as normal, but this world isn't quite as friendly or glamorous as the games she played might tell you..





	TES: Outsider

As consciousness arose from my waking mind, I found myself somewhere different from where I had went to sleep. I felt the sensation of my eyes opening, but the pitch-black darkness remained no matter how wide I tried to open them. I couldn’t see anything but inky black, couldn’t hear anything but deafening silence, and I could hardly feel that any of my senses were there at all. Though I could scarcely feel any of the normal signs of panic like a fast heartrate or a shaking body, I knew for sure that I was beginning to panic. As soon as I began to panic, something, though barely visible, appeared within my vision. It looked like some kind of..strange giant eye, blinking occasionally as I heard a voice presumably coming from it. The pupil of the eye was deformed, more closely resembling two pupils stuck together as one, and the sclera was a murky green.

The voice was slow, deep, and calm, and despite the fact that I didn’t know who it belonged to, it was oddly calming. “Please, do not be afraid...you are safe..”

The words of the entity only helped slightly, and I still struggled to remain fully calm. Still trying to grasp at what little of my senses I could feel, I formed words directed at the entity. I tried to use my mouth to speak, but felt nothing but the sound of my own familiar voice above all else. “What’s going on?!” The panic and volume of my own words almost felt painful in comparison to the relaxed voice of the entity before me.

“Simply calm down, and I will explain everything..” The voice responded, a lack of urgency clear in it compared to my own projected shout. I tried to calm myself with my usual techniques, but none of them were even possible to perform in my current state. I felt no air to take in and out of my lungs, much less a respiratory system or a mouth at all, and there was nothing to focus on but the one-eyed entity before me. So I continued to shout and panic, ignoring the entity’s advice as I deemed it impossible. 

“Where the hell am I?!”

The entity was quick to respond this time, and it was quick to actually give an answer to the question. “You are in Apocrypha..you are in my realm..”

Suddenly, the voice felt familiar, as did its words, and I began to calm down substantially. Familiarity was the best thing for me in this particular moment. “Wait..” A different kind of feeling began to rise now, a potent mix of dread and excitement. “..does that mean you’re..”

“Hermaeus Mora.” Hermaeus sounded almost..smug as he spoke his own name to finish my question and answer it at the same time before I had been able to ask it.

“Holy shit.” Oh god oh god oh god oh god I was in Nirn, or wherever the realms of oblivion technically were, but the point is that I was there. “This...this isn’t a dream, is it?” I expected to be stuttering at least a little in a moment like this, but yet my words seemed to be just as I wanted them to be spoken.

“You already know the answer to that question,” He replied, still sounding quite pleased with himself. I knew what he said was true, deep down...I knew what dreams felt like. My senses were dulled, but everything still felt strangely clear to me. This was not a dream.

“Then..why am I here? HOW am I here?” There was still a wealth of emotions brewing in me, but luckily panic was not among them for the moment. I just wanted answers.

“The answer to both of those would be myself...I was attempting to draw in any souls outside of the known spheres of existence and non-existence..it seems I was successful..”

“...what are you going to do with my soul, then?”

Hermaeus laughed softly, a chuckle that sent waves of terror coursing through me. The Daedric princes were not really known for being kind. “You will serve me, of course, in your new life and beyond..”

If I had a throat to swallow with, I would have done so in the usual manner at this particular moment. All I could really feel at the moment was my emotions themselves, and the feeling of dread certainly wasn’t going anywhere. But I noticed something within his words that gave me hope. “Wait..NEW life?”

He chuckled again, eliciting something akin to a nod as his eye swayed up and down in front of me. “You shall be placed in Nirn by my own hand...You will serve me there in the pursuit of new knowledge..”

I grew ever-hopeful, and my tone certainly showed it. If only I could smile. “So I don’t have to stay in Apocrypha..?”

“For now. But I’m sure you are aware of the fact that...well, when you do perish, your soul shall be returned to me..” 

The hope I had grew more distant now. I would have to come back here eventually, after all...I remained silent for a few moments, too many thoughts roaming around my mind to speak yet, but Hermaeus spoke before I could.

“Shall we begin selecting your vessel?”

“My vessel?”

“Every person born under normal circumstances in Nirn has a vessel of flesh and blood to contain their soul...I thought you would know that..”

That was certainly an elaborate way to describe a body. “Oh, you mean a body..”

“That is another, less elegant way to describe it, yes..Regardless, we should begin the process of selecting one.”

“What, like from a catalogue or so-“

Hermaeus interrupted me, his voice growing louder within my mind. “We shall begin with a race..what race do you wish your vessel to be, mortal?”

His words had barely reached me before I gave a response, as it was a concept I had thought about many times in the past. I knew what I wanted. “Argonian.”

Amusement in his tone, Hermaeus responded not nearly as swiftly as I had. “Ah, a lizard of the Hist..Are you absolutely sure about that choice, mortal?_ Think carefully._" 

I responded immediately after he had finished yet again, not heeding his advice whatsoever. I just wanted to be a lizard person. “Yes.”

Hermaeus let out a small chuckle, still seemingly amused by my responses. “Quite eager, aren’t you? This should be an even simpler question..what sex do you wish your vessel to have?”

“Female.” He was right about it being a simpler question, it was what I would be most comfortable with after all. Could always change that later if I wanted, being an Argonian.

“Your part of this selection is complete, mortal.”

“Wait, what? That’s it?” I definitely sounded annoyed, because I definitely was. 

His voice boomed within my mind now, almost painfully so. “Be glad I let you pick anything at all. I could have put your soul into a falmer, if I had wanted to.”

It was so easy to forget that Daedric Princes were still..well, Daedra. Hermaeus was no exception to this, and upon realizing that, I was afraid yet again. “...Fair point.” 

Hermaeus chuckled again. “Remember that I am not the prince of mercy or love, mortal. You are useful to me, but you are still beneath me.”

“I’ll..make sure to keep that in mind.” Way to make me feel worse, you tentacled douche-canoe.

“Now then, it is time you head to Nirn.”

“Wait, already? You didn’t even tell me anything else about my..’vessel’..”

“No more needs to be said. Goodbye.”


End file.
